Weekend Update 4/23/23

[freedj]

I attached my subroadbed to the benchwork [ Guests cannot view attachments ] and got the main pieces of foam cut out and placed this weekend.

[Lemosteam]

The grungy side of the tracks is coming to life on the LIRR IS:

[rickb773]

ENLIST in STAR FLEET!

Scenes From the Atlantic County 4-H Train Show - Part I

I'll post some photos of the Atlantic County 4-H Train Show over the next two days.
Multiple clubs participated

Enlistment poster at Star Trek HQ:





Going to the World's Fair?



Mass Transit



Heavy Traffic on the Highway

[rickb773]

Scenes From the Atlantic County 4-H Train Show - Part II of III

[rickb773]

Scenes From the Atlantic County 4-H Train Show - Part III of III

[draskouasshat]

im slowly working on models and fitment in the hotel. ive also been playing with printer settings thanks to @bbussey.
we have a partially modernized 4-8-4, a 3800 class 2-10-2 with cab access to the taller tenders, the madame queen, and a UP bullmoose.

Drasko
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[kiwi_al]

im slowly working on models and fitment in the hotel. ive also been playing with printer settings thanks to @bbussey.
we have a partially modernized 4-8-4, a 3800 class 2-10-2 with cab access to the taller tenders, the madame queen, and a UP bullmoose.

Drasko
(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

Smokin HOT!!! Any plans for a late model ATSF 4-8-4 and an as delivered 3751? (not modernised)

[draskouasshat]

Smokin HOT!!! Any plans for a late model ATSF 4-8-4 and an as delivered 3751? (not modernised)

Yes on both. Just waiting on some better drawings of the 2900 class to get here.

[Virginia Atlantic]

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[Dayliner]

There's a bit of a BC theme this week, so I'll chime in. 

Craig, you're nailing that bridge.  I remember the track that ran along the original alignment--I walked along it when it was new.  It was part of the bridge renewal project at Arbutus in the 70s and was a place to put the outfit cars and work equipment clear of the main line.  You can also see the original alignment at Niagara, but I don't know if they ever put an outfit track in there.

Tim, I like the new alignment at Kiskatinaw--a little simpler but maybe with some more scenic possibilities in front of the track.

After finishing construction at Lake Cowichan, I started thinking about how to communicate all that new trackage to first-time operators--always a challenge to those of us who host operating sessions.  I put up some temporary signage on the fascia, including a track diagram, labeled all the turnouts, and then invited some friends over for a "shakedown" operating session to see how it all worked.

Here's what operators see as they prepare to work Lake Cowichan:



It was better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but some further tweaking is still required.  However, operations proceeded smoothly enough, and here we see the Nitinat Logger (being run by Tim, BCR 570) arriving at Lake Cowichan.  This was the first "revenue" trip into the new and improved Lake Cowichan.

[samusi01]

Like @draskouasshat I have been in a hotel room and capitalizing on that time...




Up front: the 977A2, in the arc from left to right the 1120A2 with early container handling unit, 983A4, 983A4 LET, 984A4, 985A4 GMT, 978A2, 1120A4, and bringing up the rear the 1074A1, 1076, 1075A1 with E-CHU. For those interested in variants.

[Jesse6669]

I spent some time this week testing a new resin (Ameralabs DMD-21), trying to dial it in and although I'm not quite there yet, the results are promising.  This test is in response to some very fine handrails shrinking on the FM Train Master printed with the Phrozen Aqua 8K resin and some other body warping issues, which I believe are mostly related to the resin shrinking as it cures.  The DMD-21 has far less (or zero) shrinkage, although it's brittle-- but it should be good for certain applications.  I may even try mixing, i.e. 25% Aqua 8K or TGM-7 in to see if I can strike a balance between shrinkage and toughness.  In any event, my first objective was getting the plain resin dialed in.  After running through some evaluation prints (pic one) I have a nearly acceptable print of a recently upgraded T scale open hopper.  Some failures are evident, including some "rust holes" in the sides, and the "mash up" of the hopper doors, so I'm running more tests today with slightly different settings.
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[altohorn25]

I've been working on getting some of the logistics set on my home layout so that I can experiment with an ops session sometime in the near future.

On the advice of Bill Denton, I changed the direction of the Olympian Hiawatha to the Eastbound train and swapped out the Afternoon Hiawatha for the Westbound Morning Hiawatha.  The Morning Hiawatha carried more head end cars than it's afternoon counterpart.  By doing this, I can run my Great Northern storage mail car in the consist to add some variety.

Here's the current timetable (minus acutal departure times and the order of the trains on the sheet will change as well) and dispatcher's log:

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I took a couple of photos after switching out the Afternoon train for the Morning train:  Train #5, the Westbound morning Hiawatha, pauses to take on passengers at New Lisbon, WI on June 12th, 1952. In the consist is a Great Nothern storage mail car which will be transferred to its home road at the St. Paul Union Depot upon arrival.

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[CONRAIL FAN]

Been tinkering with the idea on how to illuminate the red marker lights on conrail locomotives. This is just a test on an atlas C40-8 using red .15mm red optical fiber.

[craigolio1]

There's a bit of a BC theme this week, so I'll chime in. 

Craig, you're nailing that bridge.  I remember the track that ran along the original alignment--I walked along it when it was new.  It was part of the bridge renewal project at Arbutus in the 70s and was a place to put the outfit cars and work equipment clear of the main line.  You can also see the original alignment at Niagara, but I don't know if they ever put an outfit track in there.

Tim, I like the new alignment at Kiskatinaw--a little simpler but maybe with some more scenic possibilities in front of the track.

After finishing construction at Lake Cowichan, I started thinking about how to communicate all that new trackage to first-time operators--always a challenge to those of us who host operating sessions.  I put up some temporary signage on the fascia, including a track diagram, labeled all the turnouts, and then invited some friends over for a "shakedown" operating session to see how it all worked.

Here's what operators see as they prepare to work Lake Cowichan:



It was better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but some further tweaking is still required.  However, operations proceeded smoothly enough, and here we see the Nitinat Logger (being run by Tim, BCR 570) arriving at Lake Cowichan.  This was the first "revenue" trip into the new and improved Lake Cowichan.

Thank you. I think the MOW track you are thinking of was in the late 80’s at the south end of the bridge. They staged flat cars of ties there for the replacement project on the bridge. I am modelling that as well but as an in service siding. It was removed after the project was complete. The track I pictured is at the north end. It’s quite a bit older and yet they left the rails.

I saw the old alignment at Niagara in a you tube video. It’s awesome. But no rails.

Craig